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Sixty Minutes; Redfin

TJ_98370TJ_98370
edited May 2007 in Seattle Real Estate
Interesting feature on Sixty Minutes last nite
QUOTE

"Real estate, by far, is the most screwed up industry in America. And we feel like things that Amazon or eBay or Yahoo have done of other industries, we can do for the real estate industry."

Glenn Kelman
Lehrer Willis and his fiancée Bridgette Takeuchi of Seattle, young and Internet savvy, took a big chance when they decided not to hire a traditional real estate agent. Instead, they both sold their old house and bought a new one online.

They used a real estate company called Redfin, an online discounter based in Seattle. It has a cadre of e-agents who, for the most part, do their work on computers and on phones......


http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/05/ ... 0865.shtml
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Comments

  • mike2mike2
    I liked that bit where they were asked if they got their asking price, and he said "$10K under", but that they saved $26K by using redfin. Even if the low offer was due to redfin's hands-off marketing they still did well.
  • redmondjpredmondjp
    Mike,

    I watched this story last night as well--I think that the $26K in savings was attributed to lowered RE commissions by not using a traditional realtor on either end (selling their old house and buying their new one). They did mention that they got $10K under their asking price when they sold their old home, but were OK with that. Of course, the Windmere agent they interviewed at the end of the story said that one reason to use a traditional agent is to maximize the selling price, due to realtor's expertice in flyer creation, house staging, etc.

    It's interesting that in several states the _____ (pick your state) Association of Realtors have lobbied to keep Redfin from doing business in their state by various means. The NAR has jumped into the fray as well. The big sticking point is access to the MLS of course. I see some big fights coming up on this one.

    And this story came on an hour after I watched Robert Mak do a piece on Zillow on Up Front with Robert Mak at 6pm on King5.
  • bilirubenbiliruben
    There are some seriously defensive agents commenting this over at RCG.

    Angry.

    Scared.

    They should be.
  • TJ_98370TJ_98370
    edited May 2007
    Yes. Ardell and company over at Rain City Real Estate Guide (RCG) seem a bit perturbed. Note that Redfin employee, Kelly Engel, who is quoted in the Sixty Minutes story, posted a comment.

    http://www.raincityguide.com/
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    Link to Redfin Blog

    http://blog.redfin.com/
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    Also, some of the comments at the 60 Minutes site are worth reading.
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  • dbcooperdbcooper
    Even 3% puhhllz,il say this some agents make work alot but the last few years nah they werent worth it,i know a few from Coldwell and im sorry to say the RE agents should be salary maybe 30 to 80k at most never never should anyone that drives people around and offers cookies and unsound advice be anywhere worth 100k or more.
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